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An award winning corporate video production company based in Nottingham

3 Tips for an Effective Video Production Brief

It may be tempting to dive right into shooting a video after your project manager gives you the go-ahead. But the truth of the matter is that if you don’t write a video production brief for your video production company, your end result could turn out completely different to how you imagined. In fact, it’ll probably end up a total mess! By writing a brief, however, you can organise your thoughts, messages and ideas so that everyone involved is on the same page and you can make the most of your video production budget. So how do you write an effective video brief? Here are three important tips that will get you on the right track.

1. Establish the Focus of Your Video Production

Always start by ensuring that the goals and focus of your corporate video are clear. So, basically, why are you making a video at all? Why not a website, a brochure or an email campaign? The focus should include, amongst other things, determining a specific target audience and the core message that you wish to communicate with your video. This in turn plays into the ultimate goal of your project — are you trying to drive more traffic to your website? Or are you hoping to spread awareness of an upcoming event? There may be a few key messages for a single film, that’s ok, but you want to make sure these are set in stone fro the outset. The more detailed this information is in your brief, the better your video production team will be able to create something that accomplishes your goals.

2. Make Your Preferences Clear!

The video production brief is the perfect time to make your stylistic preferences clear to the video production team. Have you already seen a video you like visually? Perhaps there’s a video from another market or industry that does a good job of selling their key messages? Maybe there’s a video trend or visual style you want to avoid in the execution? While you don’t necessarily need to have a finalised idea already set in stone at this point, providing your video team with examples of which styles fit (or don’t fit) your brand and its message can make it much easier to develop your video in a style that will effectively communicate your message. This is most likely to impact your budget as well!

3. Set the Timescales for Your Video Production

Setting clear timescales for your production is essential for getting your finished product delivered on time and looking exactly how you want it. There may be restrictions on certain elements of the video production. For example, filming may only be able to take place on certain days during working hours. Maybe the edit needs to be turned around in 24 hours? Perhaps a key stakeholder in the project is heading off on holiday for a fortnight during the script writing phase! All these things impact on the flow of the project and need to be dealt with as soon as possible.

In addition to the final deadline for the completed video, the members of our Nottingham video production team often find it beneficial when clients are able to provide other dates and times that are relevant to the production — such as when a special event relevant to the video will be held or when an important interview subject will be available. This vital information allows us to complete projects efficiently and on time.

While it may require a bit of extra time and effort, providing a detailed video production brief to your team will set the tone for the rest of your video project. By clarifying your project’s focus, establishing your preferences and setting the timescales for your project, you can put your team on the path to success.

Any questions about what to put in your corporate video production brief? Give us a call on 0845 680 7376!